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When I was offered a job as director of sustainability a stone’s throw from where I grew up, it was with mixed emotions that I accepted. One concern was affordability. I grew up in LA and the housing bubble that burst several years back had re-inflated. My parents still live in the area and my dad had been in the same house for more than 30 years. He lived in the quintessential empty nest and had multiple unused bedrooms. A conversation between my wife, dad, and I ensued and we decided to give it a try, living with my dad and our two kids.

(Originally written on September 26, 2013 and unintentionally relegated to dusty drafts folder for nearly a year.)

Serendipity. New York City is full of it. Sure, there is leaving your apartment to unexpectedly see a man finishing up whizzing on the building’s main entrance at 3pm on a Sunday, but there are also the happy surprises that occur when venturing out on foot.

Going out to try a burger at Big Nick’s Pizza and Burger Joint (SE corner of Columbus and 71st) a few blocks away, I rounded the corner to find

Every once in a while it’s good to enter the archives and revisit “old” ideas. Perhaps the most important “post” every written for 2nd Green Revolution was never actually a post on the site. The following comes from our About page. This is the story of why we bothered starting 2nd Green Revolution. Although the pace of posts has slowed over the past year an a half, we are more committed than ever to the sustainable — regenerative — economy. Why else would I have gone back to school for another degree? Here’s to the burgeoning 2nd Green Revolution, ushering it in, and we we began this journey.

At night my wife and I read books to our two kids. We often read the same ones for weeks at a time. Our younger one has been into a Sesame Street book titled, “I Can Do It” that features a section that starts, “So many ways to go on wheels, on four, or three, or two.” All of the modes of transportation represented on the page are “self-propelled.” From roller skates to a skateboard and bikes to inline skates, there isn’t a single motorized vehicle present in the lot. Obviously with the theme of “I can do it” at its core, it wouldn’t make sense for motorized transport to be highlighted. However, the message that children get from their parents – and society – is that gas-powered (and electrical, though not as often) vehicles are the main way to get from point A to point B.

A few weeks back I wrote about safe routes and transportation to schools, my attempts to ride my bike to my children’s daycare, and the message that it sends to them. As a symbol of alternative modes of transportation, the bike is great. They see other people biking, realize it’s a recreational activity, but still don’t see it as a major mode of transportation. Granted they’re 4 and a half and not quite 2, and I may be projecting a bit, but when it rains or is too hot (or cold), we’re running late, or need to bring extra supplies to school, we take the car. After all, I did write about the hegemony of the automobile a few years back.

As my family gets set to move yet again, we are looking at the need of a second car.

Recently U.S. Senator Sheldon White made the following comment; “there are already more American jobs in the solar industry than coal mining“. Is that a true statement? The Rhode Island Providence Journal ran the numbers and agreed with the senator. Click here for the details of their analysis and conclusion.

There’s been a fair bit of news lately about the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” Some want to postpone the implementation of the legislation ostensibly to provide more time to get vendors on board and make sure there are enough options. It is understandable the schools are facing reduced student participation now that they have cut back on sugary “milk” drinks and other food products. Ultimately a school’s job is to educate – and at some level keep children safe. Providing unhealthy food accomplished neither. A few years ago celebrity chef Jaime Oliver ventured into the school kitchen and found scratch cooking to be nearly impossible. The idea of “whole” ingredients has became anathema to school meals before I was a student when chalupas and “pizza” were served to hungry hordes of kids.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been putting my kids in the bike trailer and hopping on the bike trail system in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I’d known for a long time that The Twin Cities were considered exceedingly bikeable. As we prepare to depart for warmer climes, I find myself biking the trails increasingly. Sadly it’s hard to have a city be rated number one in terms of bikeability when the weather makes it prohibitive a majority of the year for average riders like myself. However, given the warm weather (and lack of rain), I’ve picked my kids up and dropped them off at school roughly a dozen times over the past few weeks. When I drive them, it takes about 30 minutes from start to finish (leaving our house to pulling into the garage). On the other hand it takes 40 to 45 minutes round trip when I bike there.

Did you know that compost was used in building NYC’s famous High Line, the longest green roof in the world? As part of Global Green USA’s Compost Opportunity Series, we caught up with Kelco, a landscaping and construction company, to hear how they use in compost in NYC projects such as the Highline and the atrium for the New York Times building.

How is compost used in the Big Apple? What makes quality compost? Watch to learn more!